Department of Neurology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences

BUFFALO, N.Y. — To meet Western New York’s growing
need for quality care for Alzheimer’s disease and related
disorders, the University at Buffalo’s Alzheimer’s
Disease and Memory Disorders Center is expanding its clinics in
Buffalo and Williamsville. It was designated a Center of Excellence
for Alzheimer’s Disease by New York State last year.

Part of UBMD Neurology and the Jacobs School of Medicine and
Biomedical Sciences at UB, the center is conducting clinical trials
on two new dementia treatments; it will begin enrolling patients in
a third trial in August.

Now in new offices on the fourth floor of the Conventus medical
office building at 1001 Main St., Buffalo, the downtown clinic of
the Alzheimer’s Disease and Memory Disorders Center has been
seeing patients twice a week since April, up from once a week. The
clinic cares for approximately 700 patients, a three-fold increase
since the center opened at Buffalo General Medical Center (BGMC) in
2011.

The center and UBMD Neurology moved into Conventus from BGMC
earlier this year. UBMD Neurology was the first clinical practice
to move into Conventus, followed by the other practices of UBMD
Physicians Group.

The move of the practice plans into Conventus, along with the
construction of the new Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical
Sciences building, is part of the continued expansion and
enhancement of the academic health center on the Buffalo Niagara
Medical Campus.

“We are looking forward to the synergies that will result
from having our clinics so close to where UB’s medical
students are training,” said Kinga Szigeti, MD, PhD,
associate professor of neurology at UB, the center’s director
and a physician with UBMD Neurology. “Our clinic expansions
are proof of the growing demand for neurologists,
neuropsychologists and other physicians who specialize in caring
for those with Alzheimer’s disease and related
disorders.”

And starting Aug. 1, patients being seen in Williamsville also
will be able to access more specialty care for dementia and related
disorders when the memory disorders program of UBMD
Neurology’s Williamsville clinic at 5851 Main St. expands
from one day a month to once a week. Margaret W. Paroski, MD, UB
professor of neurology and physician with UBMD Neurology, oversees
the Williamsville site.

The UB center uses a multidisciplinary approach, according to
Szigeti. A team of neurologists, neuropsychologists, social workers
and nurses conduct a detailed evaluation, including the
patient’s medical history, and neurological and
neuropsychological exams, as well as brain imaging.

“The goal is to differentiate between normal aging and
mild cognitive impairment, which may be an early sign of dementia
and various dementias,” she said.

Earlier diagnosis

The center addresses all stages of dementia, but Szigeti noted
that research is beginning to focus more heavily on the
disease’s earlier stages.

“We treat all stages of dementia,” she explained,
“but more and more research is being conducted on mild
cognitive impairment and early signs of Alzheimer’s disease
with the goal of slowing or even stopping progression of this
neurodegenerative disease.”

To that end, she said, the UB center’s physicians
emphasize early screening and diagnosis.

She added that Medicare reimburses primary care providers for
doing cognitive assessments of patients for signs of memory
disorders. Such testing may involve simple word recall, the ability
to draw a clock or open-ended questions, such as asking patients to
name items typically found in a supermarket.

“Some of the things we look for are when patients have
trouble learning new information and saying it back,” Szigeti
said. “That is a sign of Alzheimer’s, the rapid
forgetting of new information.”

The goal is to begin treatment soon after diagnosis. “With
treatment, we can give patients more good years,” she
said.

New clinical trial launches in August

Because the Alzheimer’s Disease and Memory Disorders
Center is part of the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical
Sciences, whose professors conduct medical research, the
center’s patients have access to some of the newest dementia
treatments through clinical trials.

The UB center has enrolled 27 patients in two clinical trials,
with a third coming this August. These studies focus on
patients who are as young as 55 years old and who have mild
cognitive impairment to early Alzheimer’s disease.

“When one of our patients is in a clinical trial, that
means that in addition to being treated with drugs now on the
market, they also have access to the newest treatments,”
Szigeti said. “These patients are getting a jump on
cutting-edge treatments that won’t be available to the
general patient population for many years.”

To schedule an appointment at either the Conventus or
Williamsville clinic, contact Jodi Berner at
716-323-0556.